Obama to give Syria speech Tuesday

Sep. 6, 2013
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President Obama / KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV, AFP/Getty Images

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

President Obama said Friday he will address the American people on Tuesday about Syria, and acknowledged that efforts to win congressional and international support for a military strike have been a "hard sell."

Speaking to reporters after the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Obama said: "I do consider it part of my job to help make the case and to explain to the American people exactly why I think this is the right thing to do."

Tuesday's speech figures to be a pivotal moment as Obama seeks authorization from Congress for action against Bashar Assad's government.

Obama declined to say whether he would order an attack even if Congress rejects authorization, saying he did not want to "jump the gun and speculate, because right now I'm working to get as much support as possible out of Congress."

Facing both domestic and international opposition, Obama acknowledged that "it's conceivable at the end of the day I don't persuade a majority of the American people that it's the right thing to do -- and then each member of Congress is going to have to decide."

Congressional votes are expected next week, in the days following Obama's Tuesday speech on Syria.

The president said he and his team will "systematically" speak to every member of Congress about plans to target Assad's chemical weapons capability and emphasize that it would be a "limited" operation without American ground troops.

Acknowledging deep opposition in both the House and Senate, Obama said, "I knew this was going to be a heavy lift."

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said military intervention in Syria is "ill-advised," noting that the United States was not attacked. Cole said Syria is in the midst of "a civil war, a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia and a religious war," and that "America should avoid being drawn into this conflict."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who supports military action but will not lobby fellow Republicans, said Obama is obligated to make his case to the American people and to Congress.

"Only a president can convince the public that military action is required," said spokesman Brendan Buck. "We only hope this isn't coming too late to make the difference."

In addition to Tuesday's speech, Obama and his team are planning an aggressive lobbying campaign in the days ahead on behalf of military authorization. Efforts include phone calls, interviews and private briefings for members of Congress.

On Friday, Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a speech that refusal to act in Syria will only encourage Assad and others to think they can use chemical weapons without penalty.

Speaking at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank normally supportive of Obama, Power stressed that "any use of force will be limited."

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, meanwhile, will seek to make the Obama administration's case on all five major Sunday morning interview shows.

The G-20 summit reflected some global opposition to a strike on Syria, but Obama said an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack against Syrian rebels requires a strong response.

"There is a growing recognition that the world cannot stand idly by," he said.

The White House released a joint statement calling for a "strong international response" to Assad's government, signed by 10 allies: Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Obama confirmed he had an unscheduled meeting Friday with one major critic, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders called the meeting constructive, but Putin again said Obama has not made his case against the Assad government and that military action would be a mistake.

"We stuck to our guns," Putin told reporters.

While Obama used the G-20 to try and build global support for military action, the president's speech Tuesday is directed at other skeptical audiences: the American public and Congress, which is considering a resolution authorizing force.

Many lawmakers say the resolution faces an uphill battle, particularly in the Republican-run House but also in the Democratic Senate.

Obama said he understands concerns about a "slippery slope" in Syria and the worries that it could escalate into an Iraq-type war.

But the recent chemical attack in Syria is not just a tragedy, it's "a threat to global peace and security," he said. He cited international laws against chemical weapons use and said a failure to respond in Syria would only encourage more attacks.

"Failing to respond to this breach of this international norm would send a signal to rogue nations, authoritarian regimes, and terrorist organizations that they can develop and use weapons of mass destruction and not pay a consequence," Obama said.